What is true nationalism? What is pseudo-nationalism? What is anti-national? What is patriotism? Is the shouting of nationalist slogans important to prove one’s patriotism? Why is Bharat Mata ki Jai so important to the right wing? Why does the law of sedition continue to exist on the statute book of an independent country? Who should the sedition law be used against? Why is cultural freedom important to a nation? What sort of India do we want? What sort of Indians do we want to be? What sort of country do we want to leave behind for future generations? These questions all involve one of the most fundamental ideas of India—the nationalism we inherited at birth. It is also one of the most hotly contested ideas of the twenty-first century. In this book, some of our finest thinkers and writers provide calm, measured insights into the origins, nature, practice and future of Indian nationalism.
Romila Thapar is Emeritus Professor of History at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She is a Fellow of the British Academy. In 2008, Professor Thapar was awarded the prestigious Kluge Prize of the US Library of Congress, which honours lifetime achievement in studies such as history that are not covered by the Nobel Prize.
A. G. Noorani is an Indian lawyer, historian and author. He has practised as an advocate in the Supreme Court of India and in the Bombay High Court. His columns have appeared in the Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Frontline, Economic and Political Weekly and Dainik Bhaskar. He is the author of a number of books, among them The Kashmir Question, The Trial of Bhagat Singh, Constitutional Questions in India and The RSS and the BJP: A Division of Labour. He is also the biographer of Badruddin Tyabji and Dr Zakir Hussain.
Sadanand Menon explores the charged space linking politics and culture through his work in media, pedagogy and the arts. He is Adjunct Faculty, Asian College of Journalism, Chennai and at IIT Madras. He has been an arts editor, columnist and photographer. A long-time collaborator of the late dancer/choreographer Chandralekha. He is also a leading stage lights designer. He has been on the Advisory Committees of the National Museum, National Gallery of Modern Art, Lalit Kala Akademi, National School of Drama and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. He is currently managing trustee of the Arts Foundation, SPACES, Chennai.
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